PIXAR to be taken over by Disney

[Damian]

Ew! This really makes me angry. If it does happen Disney will simply get change PIXAR into a department that spits out the same crappy animated sequels Disney has done over the past few years without them.

From TechBlog.com

We all knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later, Pixar is finally set to approve Disney’s $7 billion takeover bid tommorow (Jan. 23). This will make Steve Jobs the single largest shareholder in Disney with $3.5 billion in stock. Toy Story catapulted Pixar to fame in 1995 and its upcoming movie “Cars” is set to become a summer blockbuster.
Despite the impending takeover of Pixar, Robert Iger, the chief executive of Disney, pledged in November that “animation is, and will remain, at the heart and soul of Disney”.

Link

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Damian

Ew! This really makes me angry. If it does happen Disney will simply get change PIXAR into a department that spits out the same crappy animated sequels Disney has done over the past few years without them.

From TechBlog.com


Link

I hope this doesn't happen. But, if it does, I hope Jobs is able to force Disney to keep Pixar the elite group that they are. Being majority share holder gives you a big stick to wield, and I hope he hits the right heads with it.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Reaver

I hope this doesn't happen. But, if it does, I hope Jobs is able to force Disney to keep Pixar the elite group that they are. Being majority share holder gives you a big stick to wield, and I hope he hits the right heads with it.

That's my main concern and I think with the new CEO there's a better chance of PIXAR remaining in tact. Under Eisner he'd probably get rid of those who make PIXAR great and put into place his own writters and animators.

[Wirehed]

I think Jobs will be less concerned with content creation and more concerned with the massive library of content Disney already owns. As the single largest shareholder in Disney he can try to leverage his position with Disney into a big win with Apple. Think of Disney's library under the wing of iTunes...

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Seamonkey

I think Jobs will be less concerned with content creation and more concerned with the massive library of content Disney already owns. As the single largest shareholder in Disney he can try to leverage his position with Disney into a big win with Apple. Think of Disney's library under the wing of iTunes...

I think you're partially right. I'm sure Job's doesn't want to see PIXAR's core torn apart and watch as the company starts churning out crappy sequel after crappy sequel. Remember PIXAR is his baby, he started the company so he doesn't want to see the same thing happen to it that happened to Disney's own animation department.
However I do agree he's seeing lots of potential dollar signs with the idea of offering Disney's huge library via iTunes.

[reapersaurus]

I thought PIXAR was George Lucas' baby?

I am pretty concerned about this.

I fear that PIXAR is too unique, and do things so differently from typical formulaic Hollywood to likely be able to stay the same after being owned by someone else.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by reapersaurus

I thought PIXAR was George Lucas' baby?

It was started with employees that came from ILM.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Damian

It was started with employees that came from ILM.

It was my impression that PIXAR was originally a division of ILM that was sold off to Apple. Am I wrong there?

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Reaver

It was my impression that PIXAR was originally a division of ILM that was sold off to Apple. Am I wrong there?

No you're right. Well we're both kinda right. John Lassiter was working for Disney when he left to join Lucas at his new animation group which became PIXAR.
Timeline

[Reaver]

* wipes sweat from forehead *

Whew! For a second there I thought I was [shudder] wrong. THAT hasn't happened in a while.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Reaver

* wipes sweat from forehead *

Whew! For a second there I thought I was [shudder] wrong. THAT hasn't happened in a while.

I wonder how John Lassiter feels about working for Disney for the first time in over twenty years?

[Damian]

From CNN Business

DISNEY: Here's the latest on the perhaps-to-happen, Pixar/Disney merger. The deal, to be considered by Disney's board today, has a high probability to go through, because Disney CEO Bob Iger -- bent on bringing "the magic back to Disney"-- wants it. But the price is a very high, $7 billion in stock. A source says Michael Eisner (who if nothing else is still a major stockholder) thinks that's too high. That case rests on the thought that when Disney was under attack from Comcast, Disney was claiming that its stock was undervalued. If that's the truth, then Disney (Research) should be placing a higher value than its current stock price on every share it hands over to Pixar (Research)..... Also there has been some chatter that Steve Jobs was slated to be chairman of Disney. As of now, that does not appear to be the case. And Pixar's creative genius, John Lasseter, is supposed to be joining Disney. But there's one knock on Lasseter, which is that supposedly he's spending a lot of time and energy these days on his vineyard. On the other hand, Lasseter is supposed to have a lot of very good people working for him.

Link

[Damian]

It's Official

[Gigashadow]

I too was annoyed by this however being a Jobs/Apple fan I'm happy to see him gain an upper hand in any way.

I don't think you'll see Pixar disbanded in any way (unless their memebers choose to leave) because that would have the exact opposite effect of what Disney was going for. There's no reason to buy a superior animation company only to disband it. In recent years Disney only made money off of Pixar's films. The Disney/Pixar contract was going to expire, and Disney didn't want to see that well dry up. If they are smart they'll just let the Pixar team continue to do whay they've always done and and Disney can continue to count the box office returns.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Gigashadow

I too was annoyed by this however being a Jobs/Apple fan I'm happy to see him gain an upper hand in any way.

I don't think you'll see Pixar disbanded in any way (unless their memebers choose to leave) because that would have the exact opposite effect of what Disney was going for. There's no reason to buy a superior animation company only to disband it. In recent years Disney only made money off of Pixar's films. The Disney/Pixar contract was going to expire, and Disney didn't want to see that well dry up. If they are smart they'll just let the Pixar team continue to do whay they've always done and and Disney can continue to count the box office returns.

I agree and again I would think that under Eisner that might happen, but the new guy seems to have some sense about it.
Also they really need to make sure they keep Lassiter happy. He's the genious behind PIXAR's magic and he already worked for Disney once. Hopefully he didn't leave with a bad taste in his mouth.

[Pirate]

7.4 billion dollars!

-PH

[Reaver]

If Jobs is the majority share holder in Disney, does that mean he's also in a controlling position for all of Disney's other companies, such as ABC?

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Reaver

If Jobs is the majority share holder in Disney, does that mean he's also in a controlling position for all of Disney's other companies, such as ABC?

Good question. I would imagine he would be.

Also some AWSOME news.

And John Lasseter, the widely respected creative director at Pixar who had previously worked for Disney, will rejoin the House of Mouse as chief creative officer for the company's combined animated studios and will also help oversee the design for new attractions at Disney theme parks.

Full story

[GlacierMonkey]

Ten classic Disney shorts are now available from iTunes. That was fast.

[reapersaurus]

Originally Posted by Damian

No you're right. Well we're both kinda right. John Lassiter was working for Disney when he left to join Lucas at his new animation group which became PIXAR.
Timeline

It shows you how many people don't realize George Lucas being responsible for PIXAR.
Without ILM (which, of course, is wholly Lucas) havinbg a computer effects department and then becoming PIXAR, we wouldn;t have all these fantastic movies today.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by reapersaurus

It shows you how many people don't realize George Lucas being responsible for PIXAR.
Without ILM (which, of course, is wholly Lucas) havinbg a computer effects department and then becoming PIXAR, we wouldn;t have all these fantastic movies today.

Seriously. The man may not be a great director but nobody should ever question his contribution to the industry.

Originally Posted by GlacierMonkey

Ten classic Disney shorts are now available from iTunes. That was fast.

Only ten?

[SeanL]

This doesn't surprise me. I knew that Disney was gonna have to do everything in it's power to maintain its relationship with PIXAR. Disney's in-house projects have paled in comparison to the work put out by PIXAR.

Now lets just hope that PIXAR keeps churning out great work.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by SeanL

This doesn't surprise me. I knew that Disney was gonna have to do everything in it's power to maintain its relationship with PIXAR. Disney's in-house projects have paled in comparison to the work put out by PIXAR.

Now lets just hope that PIXAR keeps churning out great work.

That's been the biggest question. They were even saying the same thing on Fox and Friends news this morning. To quote "now we'll have to wait and see if they become Disney-fied".
With Jobs in the position of power that he is and Lassiter being over ALL Disney animation, I think PIXAR's quality will remain the same and we'll also see BETTER 2D movies coming from the house of mouse once again.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Damian

They were even saying the same thing on Fox and Friends news this morning.

* runs off to shower and delouse himself after hearing the name of that vile show *

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Reaver

* runs off to shower and delouse himself after hearing the name of that vile show *

Whatever I enjoy it and besides, I was on a treadmill at the gym so I didn't really have access to remote.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Damian

Whatever I enjoy it and besides, I was on a treadmill at the gym so I didn't really have access to remote.

The title of the show sounds like some damn H.R. Puffnstuff kiddie program, which makes their actual conservative propogandizing all the worse.

"Fair and balanced"...

* falls over laughing his ass off *

[Gigashadow]

Originally Posted by Damian

I agree and again I would think that under Eisner that might happen, but the new guy seems to have some sense about it.

Under Eisner, none of this would have happend. If he were still in charge of Disney Pixar would have let the conract end and severed their ties. They didn't want anything to do with Eisner anymore. It's only because there is a new guy that they were willing to negotiate a deal at all.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Gigashadow

Under Eisner, none of this would have happend. If he were still in charge of Disney Pixar would have let the conract and severed their ties. They didn't want anything to do with Eisner anymore. It's only because there is a new guy that they were willing to negotiate a deal at all.

Good point. Job's wasn't interesting in talking with Disney anymore until Eisner left his position.

[Gigashadow]

Originally Posted by Damian

I think PIXAR's quality will remain the same and we'll also see BETTER 2D movies coming from the house of mouse once again.

I don't think we'll see any 2D stuff coming from there anytime soon if ever. Disney closed down their 2D feature animation department before starting work on Chicken Little and Pixar doesn't do 2D animation. There's really no audience for it anymore and the box office has shown them that. It's another factor in Disney's decision. You don't buy the best 3D animation house in the business because you're planing on producing 2D features. You do it becuase you want to produce the best 3D films that you can.

[Gigashadow]

Originally Posted by Reaver

The title of the show sounds like some damn H.R. Puffnstuff kiddie program, which makes their actual conservative propogandizing all the worse.

"Fair and balanced"...

* falls over laughing his ass off *

Say what you will about Fox News, but Juliette Huddy is a hottie.

[Damian]

Originally Posted by Gigashadow

I don't think we'll see any 2D stuff coming from there anytime soon if ever. Disney closed down their 2D feature animation department before starting work on Chicken Little and Pixar doesn't do 2D animation. There's really no audience for it anymore and the box office has shown them that. It's another factor in Disney's decision. You don't buy the best 3D animation house in the business because you're planing on producing 2D features. You do it becuase you want to produce the best 3D films that you can.

I absolutly don't agree. The story is what drives the movie, not the animation. Disney was wrong for closing their 2D department which was Eisner final mistake. They may not have anything currently in development but 2D animation will come back.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Gigashadow

Say what you will about Fox News, but Juliette Huddy is a hottie.

She pales in the shadow of CNN Headline News' Robin Meade, the hottest woman in cable news today. She could tell me I had cancer, and I'd love watching her say it.

[Titleist]

This could be the best thing that's happened for Disney in decades. Considering their downward turn in the last 10 years. As an apple devotee, and for 3 years an apple employee I can say he runs a horribly tight ship, but it works.

If anyone can turn the house of mouse around into a good company again it's Jobs. At least they have a rudder now.

I completely agree about the fact that if the story is good it doesn't matter if it's 2D or 3D. Look at Miyazaki's stuff. Look at Pixar's stuff (minus Cars, that looks like pure ass), if the story is good who cares what the medium is or is not.

Here's something horribly ironic, my two best friends in college had one lifelong goal, to become traditional animators for disney. I took about 2.5 years of 2D animation in conjunction with 3D animation, but anyways they worked night and day and right out of college they got picked up by Disney recruitters. Two months after picking up and moving to Disney, Disney closed their doors. How's that for crushing your dreams in one quick swoop?!